A lively crowd gathered at the Hilton Americas-Houston for the Rice Design Alliance Gala on Saturday night. More than 900 attendees flooded the downtown hotel's fourth-floor foyer to peruse the auction offerings during cocktail hour.

This year's "DRAW" theme shone inside the grand ballroom. Twenty-five floor-to-ceiling images of iconic skyscrapers including Enron Center South and the Houston Industries Tower adorned the walls. Projections of Etch A Sketch-style drawings streamed continuously in each corner, while interactive tablescapes of pencils and graph paper scrolls invited guests to unleash their creative prowess during the three-course feast.

The short-but-sweet program, spearheaded by gala chair Barbara Amelio and underwriting chair Julie Gauthier, was punctuated by a touching video presentation in remembrance of the late 2014 RDA Award for Design Excellence recipient, William D. Kendall.

Gerald Hines, Tom Owens, Jerry Lea, John Mooz, Cesar Pelli, Jon Pickard and Bill Chilton all gave remarks. One colleague recalled an instance when Kendall launched into an impromptu recitation of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" during a meeting.

Kendall's wife, Sharon, accepted the honor on his behalf before Yvonne Washington and the Mix drew attendees in for an all-night dance party.